


Butterflies

by PaintMeTheSky



Category: Archie Comics
Genre: Beggie, Betty & Veronica, Comics, F/M, archie comics - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-08
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2018-01-18 15:32:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1433611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintMeTheSky/pseuds/PaintMeTheSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reggie and Betty start to get closer since the day his car broke down and they ended up spending a long time finding out more about each other. But as their feelings for each other start to grow they wonder, is this something that would last?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after getting really inspired by this other ReggiexBetty fic I found here. Mine's really short though I thought I'd add another chapter if anyone liked it.. :3
> 
>  
> 
> Ps. The fic that inspired me was this : [ link ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/32135)  
> I think it's a must read for any Beggie shipper :3
> 
> Also, excuse any mistakes I might've made. I proofread it a couple times but I suck at finding errors so...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reggie and Betty are on the way to the autumn dance but Reg's car breaks down on the way.

 "You really said that?!" Betty asked between guffaws. She was laughing so hard tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

Reggie, who was obviously very pleased with himself, assured her that he did.

"You're really something, Reg! I can't believe she gave you a second chance after that!" Betty exclaimed.

"Girls can't resist the old Mantle charm, Bets. It's not their fault. It's just me... I'm so... Gorgeous, ya know?" Reggie drawled.

At this, Betty burst out even louder. "Yeah, right" she snorted "Well don't stop now! Tell me another one of your 'Disaster Date' stories!!"

"Maybe another time, Bets. Lemme tell you something much more interesting..... Like how I scored the winning touchdown at our last match!" Reggie exclaimed.

Betty rolled her eyes and sank back to her seat as Reggie began his epic tale of victory.  
Once again, she was on her way to the autumn dance with Reggie as her date. Archie had asked Veronica last time so she was hoping he'd ask her to go with him this time. She really shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't. Nothing short of Veronica leaving the country (which she often did) or her wanting a change from dating the same redhead over and over again could keep Archie from going with Veronica. Reggie, who was going to ask Ron was also disappointed. So as usual, when Veronica ended up going with Archie, Reggie asked Betty.

"Oh right! Before I forget..." Reggie reached into his pocket, took out a small box and handed it to Betty. "For you, m'lady"

Betty took it, gave him a confused smile and opened it to find a very beautiful corsage. "Awnh Reg! You shouldn't have!" She said, pinning it on her dress. "This must have cost a bunch!" she said, paused then said "It was meant for Ronnie, wasn't it?"

"Ehh"

"Yeah. I expected Archie to ask me so I was pretty sure Ron was going with you." She sighed.

Reggie didn't say anything. He drove on silently.

After a short pause, Betty exclaimed "I got something for you too!"  
She motioned to the backseat. There was a small basket resting on it. "I packed us some snacks cuz I knew it was going to be a pretty long drive."

"So that's what that was! I thought it was a weird sort of purse to take to a formal dance! Thanks Bets! Arch's loss, huh?"

"Ron's too." She smiled, glancing down at her beautiful blue corsage. It made her feel much prettier, for some reason.

Soon Archie and Veronica almost forgotten, they resumed talking about other things. Things like music, movies, bad dates and even studies. They had a lot in common and could make just about any topic seem interesting.

They were about halfway there when suddenly they heard a loud sound, felt a bump and realized to their dismay that one of the car's tyres got punctured. Reggie hit the steering wheel in frustration. "I normally keep a spare tyre in the trunk but I forgot to replace the last one I needed!"

"Soo... What now?" Betty asked.

Reggie took out his cellphone, got out of the car and made a phone call. He returned shortly with the news that someone was on the way with a spare tyre but it might take some time. It was hard enough as it was to find a shop open so late.

"UGH!! WHY DO THINGS LIKE THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME??!! THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO THE GREAT MANTLE!!!" Reggie went on like this for a while. After what seemed like an hour of venting, he suddenly became very quiet. Betty, who was quiet the whole time looked up at him. He looked to be lost in thought. The silence was starting to get a bit awkward. She almost preferred his ramblings over this. Suddenly, he turned to her, a serious expression on his face, "I'm sorry Bets.. I know you were looking forward to a night of partying, dancing, fun with the others.... Not this.."

Betty was taken aback by his apology. This was a first! Reggie Mantle feels bad for me?

She raised an eyebrow. "Wow. This isn't like you, Reg! Can you say all that again? I wanna record it." She said with a half smile.

"Aahh! Knock it off Bets!" He returned her smile, his cheeks colouring slightly.

They'd been sitting in the car and waiting for about fifteen minutes. They were literally in the middle of nowhere. The dance was at a convention centre a few miles out of town. Most of the guys decided to carpool there but Reg decided to take his own car, go in comfort. Hah! That worked out well! He could almost hear Arch and the other guys making fun of him later.

"Oh Reg, I heard your tyre got punctured halfway here! Hahaha! That's too bad man!"

"Karma, man. This is just the world getting back at ya for all the shit you put us through!"

"Poor Betty! She really shouldn't have decided to go with you, Reg"

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Betty. "Hey Reg, you okay?" She asked, a bit concerned.

"Huh.. What? Oh yeah, yeah, I'm fine" he said "Getting a bit hungry though.."

"That's great!" She exclaimed.

Reg threw her a confused look.

"I mean that's great because my food won't go to waste!" She said motioning to the basket on the backseat.

"Oh. Right" he mumbled.

"We could make a picnic out of it!" She smiled "Wouldn't wanna get crumbs in your new car!"

He smiled at her. Good old Betty! If it was Ronnie, she'd have chewed his head off by now, brains and all.

"I think I have something that might help" Reggie got out of the car and brought an old blanket out from the trunk. Betty took the basket and they parked the car on the side of the road and spread the blanket out on a grassy patch of land and set themselves down. Betty had packed a fine meal indeed! Sandwiches, brownies, chocolate chip cookies and some leftover peach cobbler. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were planning for this to happen!" Reggie grinned, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"I forgot drinks!" She said, somewhat disheartened at her carelessness.

"Cripes Bets! You really are good for nothing!" He joked. "Simmer down. I'm sure the tyre guy'll be here soon enough and we'll be on our way! You can have drinks at the dance!"

Somewhat satisfied with this, Betty began nibbling on a cookie. Some time passed though, and there was still no sight of any mechanic.... Or any other human being for that matter.

They'd finished eating and laid down on the blanket. The sky was filled with stars and it was an amazing sight. The sort of thing which city folk weren't used to. It was quite chilly outside and Betty's dress did little to protect her from the cold. She was shivering. Reggie sighed and got up, retrieved his expensive suit jacket from the car and offered it to her.

"Thanks" she said, touched by this unexpected chivalrous act. Reggie had his moments. He wasn't as bad as everyone put him out to be, she thought hugging the jacket tighter around herself. She became overpowered by the scent of his perfume from the jacket. She blushed as he scooted closer to her. "I really am sorry, Bets."  
She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "It's not your fault" she said with a smile and he smiled back.

They sat quietly, side by side. Betty rested her head on his shoulders. "This is nice. The weather's nice."

"Yeah" he said softly. He could feel butterflies in his stomach. This was new. It DID feel nice, just the two of them there under the moon, surrounded by lush greenery in the middle of nowhere. He imagined it wouldn't be the same with any other girl, not even Ronnie. She'd probably be yapping on about how careless of him it was to forget a spare tyre and about how she was was NEVER EVER going anywhere with him EVER AGAIN. There was something about Betty. Yeah, she was probably not too thrilled about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with the most obnoxious guy in Riverdale, probably looking forward to dancing with Archie but if she WAS disappointed, she didn't show it. She considered his feelings and that's something not a lot of people did. Not for him, anyway. He wondered why he didn't think to see it before. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.

Suddenly, he heard a noise in the distance. A car was coming! Moment's over, he sighed to himself. He wasn't sure if it was the mechanic but he got up, walked over to the road and started waving his arms frantically. The car stopped. He peeked inside to see a man and a woman, probably in their late forties, both looked like rednecks. "Do you have a spare tyre, sir? Mine got punctured. We'd been stuck here for, like, two hours!" He said, motioning over to Betty who remained where she was, staring at them.

"Sorry kid, I don't got no spare tyres. Where y'all headed? Reckon I could give y'all a lift!" He said in a thick southern accent.

Reggie gave him the address and motioned Betty over to them. "Bets, they said they could give us a lift but I gotta stay with my car. It wouldn't be fair to keep you waiting as well so you go on ahead"

"But, Reg-" she started but he cut her off. "Nah, it's okay. You were held up long enough as it is. I'll be fine! You go on now!" With that, he turned and walked back and laid back down on the blanket and closed his eyes. He didn't want her to go. This was unlike any date he'd ever been on. She was unlike any other girl he had been with. He'd taken Betty on plenty of dates and dances before but for some reason he hadn't felt any different towards her back then. "What changed?" He wondered.

He heard the car's engine restart and the car took off. He chewed thoughtlessly on his lower lip until he heard footsteps making their way through the grass.

He opened his eyes to see Betty holding out a bottle of water to him, a smug smile on her face.

"Bets?! But... The car... It left!"

"Yeah... Or were you expecting them to wait with us?" She snorted "They were nice enough to give us a bottle of water, though" she said, sitting down beside him.

He stared at her. "Why'd you come back?"

"The Mantle charm pulled me back! I couldn't resist it!" She batted her eyelashes at him.

At this, he began laughing really hard. He scooted over closer to her and rested his head on her lap. "Thanks Bets! I wasn't looking forward to waiting out here alone"

She came back! She had every opportunity to ditch him and go to the dance but she came back! Could it be that she felt the same weird butterfly-in-the-stomach-thing? Or was she just trying to be polite?

"I just thought you'd be too scared to wait here all alone-" she looked down to see him staring right at her, a serious sort of expression on his face. "What?"

"You look really beautiful tonight, Bets.." He brought his hands up to her face, stroking her cheeks.

"Reg.. What.." The words died in her throat. She was blushing wildly.

Without thinking, Reggie pulled her face down to his and kissed her.


	2. The Turmoil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \-------------------  
> It's been a while since the dance and both Reggie and Betty seem to be in a daze. Two troubled teens in turmoil feat. two somewhat unhelpful moms!  
> \-------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-------------------  
> Haha so here I am with a sequel two years later!! It honestly doesn't feel like it's been that long! Sometimes I'd get notifications for comments and kudos's (kudoses? kudoss? kudi? who knows?) and I'd smile like an idiot and it really helped pump me up to write more!
> 
> As always, any critique is welcome and if anything seems off, please forgive me (;w;)/ and let me know!
> 
> Ps. the next chapter's kinda done too :3 Just gotta clean it up a bit more :>  
> \-------------------

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Betty stared at a poster affixed to the wall in front of her desk. Her cat, Caramel, jumped onto her lap and she pet it mindlessly. Her diary had been open in front of her for a while now but she couldn’t put her thoughts onto paper at the moment. 

A few minutes had passed before she realized that her mother had been standing at the door, watching her.

A teasing smile formed on her face when Betty finally came to her senses and noticed her standing there.

“Daydreaming, are we?” she asked in a playful tone.

“Ahaha… hey mom…” Betty’s eyes shifted downwards. A slight blush coloured her cheeks a rosy pink. 

Her mother raised an eyebrow “Thinking about Archie again?”

Betty felt her shoulders twitch. She **should** have been thinking about Archie. He was the one person who was **always** on her mind. But for some reason this time it wasn’t Archie.

It was someone her mother wouldn’t guess if he were the last boy in Riverdale. She’d probably name some random foreign actor before even thinking it’d be town prankster- Reginald Mantle- who occupied most of her daughter’s thoughts in recent days.

Betty spun around on her swivel chair a few times, unsure of what to say.

“It isn’t Archie then?” her mother was surprised.

She couldn’t blame her. It had always been Archie before.

“Adam? Jason? Antonio Banderas?” Alice Cooper seemed perplexed.

Betty let out a loud laugh. She was spot on about her mother at least.

“Noo mom” she said between bouts of laughter “and would you let that go, already? That was just a phase!”

“Well whoever it is, I hope everything goes well, dear! Let’s hope he fences with all the other lads and wins over your heart!” she said, making swordfighting motions as she left the room.

“I hope so too…” Betty’s voice trailed after her.

 She continued staring mindlessly at the wall.

  

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Reggie peeled a banana slowly, but paused before taking a bite. The peel reminded him of something. The way it curved… didn’t it look kind of like Betty’s ponytail? That cute little ponytail… wait what? An exasperated sigh escaped his lips for the umpteenth time as he sunk lower onto his chair, with his feet up on the table. 

“You’re making some very interesting expressions, son”

Reggie looked up to see his mother smirking at him from across the table.

He ignored her and pouted as he fell back into his reverie.

“Not so fast young man!” his mother interjected. “I don’t care if you’ve caught the love-bug or whatever! You go finish your chores right now, you hear?”

“WHO’S GOT THE LOVE-BUG?!” Reggie sat up immediately, his face beet red.

 “Easier to read than a book” his mother gave him a smug look, which irritated him more than a bit.

“YOU’RE WRONG!! I… was just thinking about some test results…”

“Oh? And pray tell, what ‘test’ did you take in the middle of your holidays?” she air quoted the ‘test’ for good measure.

Reggie felt his face turn redder by the second “An online test… about uh… what my spirit animal is”

 “I bet it’s a chicken,” said his mother, unimpressed.

“Hmm” he said thoughtlessly before fully processing what she actually just said “HEY!!”

“If you don’t hurry and finish your chores, it might come out as a sloth next time,” she said as she wiped the table. 

“ _You’re a sloth_ ,” he muttered as he ambled out of the room.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

He came back after cleaning out the garage, and began washing the dishes that had collected in the sink.

His mother joined him and helped by wiping dry the dishes he washed.

“Aren’t you even going to ask what or rather, _who’s_ been making me cranky lately” Reggie kept scrubbing the same dish many more times than necessary.

“Were you being cranky?” his mother looked sideways at him, a playful smile on her face.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t notice,” he pouted. His mother could be so difficult at times…

“But honey, you’re _always_ cranky” she smirked, yet again. 

“OK FINE! EXTRA CRANKY THEN!” he scrubbed the dish quite roughly, though there was scarcely anything to clean on it anymore.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just messing with you, sweetie. Don’t take your anger out on the poor dish, look it’s clean already” she took it from him, rinsed it and began wiping it. “So who’s been causing your young heart such grief?” 

“Betty. Cooper. Betty Cooper.” He grabbed another dish and began rage-scrubbing again. 

“Ah… and what about Betty?”

“I think I like her,” he grumbled.

“Of course you do, dear. Who wouldn’t? She’s a sweetheart and so very nice!”

“No! I mean, yeah she is! But that’s not what I meant!” he felt his ears redden.

“Oh!” his mother seemingly understood it now. “And she loves Archie, everybody knows that. So that’s what’s been bothering you?”

Reggie said nothing. He continued scrubbing a dish that no longer required any cleaning.

“Well, what are you doing here scrubbing dishes then?!” his mother suddenly burst out.

“Huh?” Reggie raised an eyebrow “Aren’t you the one who said I had to finish my-”

She ignored him “You should be out there! Professing your love to her!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down there. Who said anything about ‘ _love_ ’?” he air quoted the ‘love’.

“Well, whatever it is, you should be out there talking to her about it! Not sitting here mumbling to yourself! What will that even achieve?” Vicky Mantle was getting all fired up. “Oh, I’m so excited! You know, I quite like Alice and Hal! They’re really nice! You could learn a lot from Chic, you know?! He’s a fine young man! Oh my, your kids would look lovely!! I hope they have Betty’s blue eyes!” 

Reggie felt a cold sweat form on his brow. “Okay, mom, can you just forget I ever said anything to you?”

“I’m just joking, dear. But for now try talking to her. Nothing will come out of just sitting here and giving up, just because she likes someone else. Try talking to her first and find out for yourself if it really is hopeless or not.” Vicky patted him on the head.

“Thanks ma”

She was right. He had to talk to her. But he was afraid. Not just of what she would say or how she feels. He wondered about his own feelings. Was this just a phase? He wasn’t even sure he wanted to be tied to just any one girl (unless maybe if it were Veronica). He didn’t want to risk hurting Betty in the midst of trying to figure out what exactly this whole thing was. 

“Mom’s right. Nothing’s gonna come out of just sitting around and staring off into space” he gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek, grabbed his car keys and left.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Dear Diary, 

Now what I’m writing right now may be quite a bit unbelievable but do bear with me. So, the dance I went to with Reggie… well, technically we ended up never getting there but that’s not the point. See, that night... I got to see a different side of Reggie. I mean it wasn’t as surprising as I initially thought it to be. It’s not like it hadn’t popped up every once in a while… I mean I knew he wasn’t _all_ bad but… it was different. Even more so than the other times. I just-“

 

The above few lines were all she managed within the span of a few hours. It really was hard for her to express what she was feeling inside. It came so naturally with Archie. Why was it so hard with him?

She loved Archie. She still did. Feelings like those didn’t just disappear after one seemingly amazing night with someone who made her feel special.

At least that’s what she kept repeating in her head but it somehow didn’t feel very credible. Almost like she _wanted_ herself to think that way.

She opened a small desk drawer and took out the corsage he gave her that day. She kept staring at it from time to time, reminiscing on the events that came to pass, the things they talked about, how he looked at her then.

Then, the inevitable self-doubt came. The ‘I’m-probably-just-romanticizing-it’, the 'why-would-he-like-me?', the ‘he-was-probably-just-super-horny’, all such negative thoughts brewing up within her inner turmoil. 

“When thinking about it rationally, he obviously doesn’t feel anything special for me. We were on a date, the stars were out, and he was probably just reacting to the atmosphere. Besides, he completely froze up when I asked him about Ronnie. He obviously has feelings for her” at which point she stiffened, just coming to the realization that even Reggie had someone he had strong feelings for.

She chewed on her lower lips. The last thing she needed to do was develop feelings for another guy who would put Ronnie (or just about any other girl) before her. It was hard enough dealing with her feelings for Archie.

She took another glance at the beautiful blue corsage and sighed. “Moments over, Cinderelly” she sullenly flung it onto her bed and scowled at it.

“You were for Ronnie, anyway” she muttered, as she grabbed her coat, keys and wallet, and walked out.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

She came back shortly, swiftly marched over to her bed, picked up the corsage and carefully put it back inside the desk drawer.

"I don't want to ruin it. It's expensive" she reasoned with herself, a perpetual scowl on her face. She closed the desk drawer and left again.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-------------------  
> I'm not super happy with it, though. I feel as though I was lacking in inspiration a bit. I don't plan to follow the new 'Riverdale' series that's coming out soon (EVEN THOUGH COLE SPROUSE IS PLAYING JUGHEAD OMG) and I haven't even been keeping up with the new comics. If I hear of some Beggie hope in anything, I will jump into it, all things considered. But otherwise, I really don't think I can stand to see how they're gonna change the characters in the new TV series.  
> \-------------------


	3. Underneath The Stars With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> \-------------------  
> Butterflies Pt. 2: What Happened That Day  
> \-------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-------------------  
> I've been binge-writing hehe :3
> 
> So here's chapter-3.
> 
> Please let me know if there's anything wrong, or any inconsistencies!  
> Please comment :> it makes me happy  
> \-------------------
> 
>    
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> So, we go back to the night itself; the night it all started! What had exactly happened to make them both so out of sorts?

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The kiss was long and sweet and left them both out of breath. 

Reggie swiftly sat up, cleared his throat and laughed nervously, and then cleared his throat again. 

Betty’s eyes never left her lap and even the darkness of the night could not hide the blush that painted her ears and cheeks a deep scarlet.

It was very endearing and Reggie couldn’t help but shift closer to her and kiss her again. Betty was caught by surprise but made no move to resist him. Her fists which had been balled in her lap then moved up to his shoulders, enveloping them.

Reggie’s lips trailed down from her lips to her neck. Things escalated from there, with no words being exchanged between them.

It was pointless to think about what was, or what would come to be. What mattered was what was happening right then and there. At least that’s how they had felt at the time.

So, without thinking about anything else, or rather "anyone else", they thought only of what they wanted then and there, and kissed each other passionately. 

Reggie hovered over Betty, who was lying on the blanket facing him. His hands were on her thighs, under the skirt of her dress, inching dangerously northward. Hers were inside his shirt, stroking his abs. The only times their mouths parted from each other's were when they desperately needed to breathe or when he moved to bite her neck or when she nibbled on his ears.

Then he suddenly paused, his hand ceasing to go where she waited eagerly for it to go. He blushed hard as he tried to form his next words properly.

“Um… uh… sh-should we… um… can we… what I mean to say is…”

Betty understood what he was trying to say. Honestly, she never expected him to stop and consider asking her first. With how she was feeling at the time, she wouldn’t have minded if he straightaway went there without holding back. But he didn’t and she respected him all the more for it. Besides, it was cute seeing him, of all people, be so meek.

In response to his almost-question she smiled and nodded “Yeah”, her voice breathless.

Reggie smiled back, a smile so bewitching, Betty felt the time around her stop. The transition -after she gave him her consent- from the docile blushing boy to the seductive man with his packs showing through his unbuttoned shirt, would be too much for anyone to take. Betty felt weak but she wasn't about to let him see that! But it was so hard to be on par with him, especially since his carnal desires showed from his expression, just what he would do to her and just how much she wanted him to.

Just as he reached for his belt buckle, the ground right next to his right knee started vibrating.

The x-files theme began to play.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Reggie yelped and sat up in a panic.

Betty struggled to stifle her laughter.

“GEEZ, BETS! CHANGE THAT RINGTONE, WOULD YA?!” Reggie clutched at his heart, his cheeks rosy with embarrassment.

Betty couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer “OH GOD, YOUR FACE JUST THEN” she clutched her stomach and tears formed in her eyes.

“You can’t blame me! You know, it’s always places like this one! You know?! Where the aliens pick up their victims on those kooky-looking saucer-ships!!”

Upon seeing her smirk, he coughed “…not that I believe in that kinda stuff, you know? I’m just saying I-I got taken by surprise, you know?”

She laughed and rolled her eyes.

“Aren’t you gonna get that?” he asked, pouting.

Betty picked up the call.

“Bets where are you two?!” Archie’s voice seemed worried.

“Reg and I are having a party of our own” she smiled at Reggie, who was checking his own phone, the pout still clear on his face.

“Oh… is that so…” Archie seemed irritated. “Are you guys not coming?”

“Not sure. We’ll try our best though, haha” Betty enjoyed the discontent in his voice. “Bye Archiekins” she chirped and hung up shortly.

Reggie threw her an annoyed look. “ _Bye Archiekins~_ ” he mimicked.

She smirked at him and then suddenly jolted from the realization that maybe she should have asked for help. “Ah! I forgot to tell them about our situation!”

She looked at him meekly “Sorry…”

Reggie’s heart skipped a beat. He was a strong man. He’d be damned if he’d let himself get struck down with that blue-eyed-blonde’s puppy-face.

“Nah, it’s ok, I called someone else for it. Besides we’re having our own party anyway, right?” he flashed her a mischievous grin.

So he was listening to the conversation after all, it seems.

“What did Arch have to say?”

“Nothing much. He seemed kind of upset” she giggled.

“Jealous, huh?” he looked up at her “Bet it made you happy.”

“Jealous? Don’t be silly I’m not Ronnie. He wouldn’t get jealous over me…”

He hated the face she made as she said that.

“What do you see in a guy like him anyway?”

He gazed over at a streetlamp, but caught her every movement. She was twirling strands of her hair between her fingers. She chewed on her lower lip. He wanted to chew on it too but he tried to wave those thoughts away as she attempted to answer him.

“I… It’s just that… From since, like, forever I… I don’t know I… You know he’s always been kind and gentle and sweet and such a great friend.” She looked at anything but him.

“Is it kind and gentle and sweet how he treats you? How he knows about your feelings but he keeps playing around with you like that?”

He had always wanted to ask her that, but there had never really been a proper time before.

“It’s not his fault. He never asked for my feelings. They are my own. If I suffer because of them, isn’t it my own fault? He doesn’t owe it to me to always pick me just because **_I_** have feelings for him.” She fiddled with the hem of her dress.

Reggie narrowed his eyes “Tell me you don’t really think that.”

Betty finally looked up and met his eyes.

He inched over to where she was. “Bets, he takes your feelings for granted. He always ends up turning to you when Ron isn’t around. It’s never about **you** , it’s about what’s convenient for **him** ”

“You’re one to talk. What about you and Ronnie?” Betty retaliated.

Reggie smiled, yet his face deflated. “Ouch. Okay, okay, I surrender” he raised his hands up for effect.

There was a short moment of silence.

Betty had been the one to break it.                                   

“So… what do **you** think I should do?” she asked him earnestly, her eyes looking straight into his.

Reggie was caught off-guard.

“I think you should ditch him and fall for me”- it was on the tip of his tongue.

But somewhere, a part of him knew what it meant to say it.

Of course he wasn’t planning on going steady with any **one** girl. He couldn’t deprive all the other lovely ladies of Riverdale the chance to date his gorgeous self.

Sure, he was feeling all sorts of weird things for Betty right **_now_** but… that’s just… hormones, right? He’d regret it later if he said anything and messed up their friendship.

He sighed. “I think you deserve much better” he said softly.

Betty’s eyes widened.

"And..." he continued.

"And?" she held her breath.

“And, I think you should get up and take a short walk with me. My butt hurts from sitting for so long.” He got up and offered her a hand.

The intensity in the air seemed to vanish instantly. She almost thought she imagined it. Perhaps, she did.

She smiled and took his hand, quite unsure of what kind of reply she had been hoping for.

He pulled her up gently, but never let go of her hand. “Lets walk a bit further down the road”

The backdrop was lovely. The sky was dotted with stars and it was amazing. The ambience was just perfect. They walked down the road and back, and then went up an incline. They found a nice steep edge from over which there was a great view of a valley, which seemed eerie in the darkness of the night. The stars did their best to illuminate the scene, but alas they were too far away.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They spoke of things they had in common. It had never been like this between them.

Sometimes, the conversation had gone to slightly personal and awkward topics.

They hadn't learned as much about each other over their decades-long friendship as they had that night.

Needless to say, they hadn’t been able to attend that dance.

Neither of them cared.

It was just one of the multitude of dances hosted by their high school.

What meant more to them was this unexpected experience, the new companionship they gained with each other, the beautiful sights they saw, and the bittersweet feelings that grew between them that neither of them had understood at the time.

Eventually, a soft light glowed down the road, just as they had walked back to check up on Reggie’s car.

The mechanic had been in a state of panic. ~~(hehe it rhymed)~~

He apologized numerous times for being so late.

Both of them reassured them that it was okay.

Internally, they thanked him the more for it.

When the new wheel had been set, they went back to town as neither of them had been in the mood to attend the party. 

They arrived at Pop Tate’s just as he had been about to close up shop. They hadn’t expected him to be open this late in the first place. He told them it was because he was finishing up some paperwork, so he ended up staying overtime.

As they were known regulars -like family to him- he didn’t mind staying open a bit longer for them to have some dinner.

Although he didn’t say anything about it, he noticed the new way they looked at each other and how the air was somewhat different between them. Pop smiled amusedly to himself.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

After dinner at Pop’s, Reggie dropped Betty off at her place.

She got down from the car and walked over to his side. He lowered the window and smiled sheepishly at her. 

“I had fun” she smiled back. 

“Yeah, me too”

A feeling of dread passed over them both. 

_Would things go back to how they were the next time they met?_

_How were things supposed to be between them now?_

_Were they even supposed to be any different?_

They had no idea what the other was thinking or feeling. In fact, they barely even understood their own feelings!

The air got tense all of a sudden.

“I-I’ll see you around then,” Betty stammered.

“Mmm” Reggie too had been at a loss over what to say.

He drove off and she went inside.

Then, the turmoil began.


	4. Butterflies & Mind Games

Reggie shook his leg violently as his eyebrow twitched in irritation. Betty, sitting at the opposite side of the table, avoided his gaze for one reason or another.

She faced downwards and nervously sipped her drink.

“Reg. Stop it. It’s seriously annoying” shot Jughead, who had been sitting beside him in the booth, feeling the full brunt of his irritable leg-vibration.

Reggie ignored him and continued fidgeting while playing around with the cutlery on the table.

Archie, oblivious to Jughead’s dilemma or Reggie’s fury- sat relaxed with an arm snaked intimately around Betty’s waist. He snuggled close to her and dipped a straw in her drink and took a long slurp.

Reggie thought about his short discussion with his mother earlier. He glanced up at Betty who -much to his annoyance- refused to meet his gaze. Then he shot a dirty look at Archie. He had _some nerve_ latching onto Bets like that.

“So Reg,” Archie faced Reggie “How come you guys didn’t show up at the dance that day?" 

“I already told you, Carrot-top. My car broke down” Reggie didn’t bother to look at Archie as he spoke. He continued playing around with the cutlery, carefully organizing them in a pattern. 

“Oh right” Archie chuckled “That’s too bad man” he said but his face showed amusement rather than concern. “Must have been tough on you, Bets” 

Reggie clenched his fists. 

“Not at all” Betty smiled. “Reg and I had fun on our own,” she laughed softly, still not meeting Reggie’s eyes. 

“Oh. Cool.” Archie frowned. 

Reggie felt the sides of his lips turn up. He wanted to thank her for defending him, if only she’d just look at him dammit!

“So Bets, how about going for a movie with me Saturday night?” Archie looked at her with the sincerest puppy-face he could muster.

Any other time, Betty would have felt cupid’s arrow itself pierce through her heart with that look. However, now she just felt tired. She knew she was going to regret her next set of words.

“Sorry Archie, I actually have plans that night…”

She did have plans that night. Namely, a skype-session with Polly, but even she knew that any other time she’d have rescheduled a heart surgery for a date with Archie. Perhaps later she’d kick herself for it but she really wasn’t feeling up to it.

Archie, who wasn’t used to getting rejected by Betty -for any reason whatsoever- felt his face shrink. “Ah… that’s too bad, Bets. Maybe next week then.”

“Yeah” she smiled, but made no further attempt to reschedule those plans. She excused herself to the bathroom.

“Agh! Ronnie’s going to be away this weekend, too!” Archie tutted. “Well, I guess I should dig out my little black book again!” Archie smirked and immediately felt something hit his face.

Reggie beamed victoriously from his seat. “Whoops! Sorry Arch” he chimed as he collected the scattered pieces of the contraption he constructed out of the cutlery and dishes present; all for the sake of catapulting some fries at the redhead’s face. It was weak and broke down after only the first shot. 

“Real mature, Reg” Jughead commented impassively.

Archie shot Reggie a nasty look as he picked up the fries and threw them right back at him, just as Betty returned to the table.

“Don’t play with your food, Archie” she scolded as she sat down.

“B-but!” he started to defend himself as Reggie burst out laughing.

“Arch, lets go see if you can beat my last highscore” Jughead suggested, indicating to the arcade machine Pop had situated in a far corner of the restaurant.

“You made another high score?!” Archie exclaimed as he made his way out of the booth.

“No kidding, Jug, I bet I-” Reggie started to get up too when he felt himself pinned in place with the look Jughead shot him.

Juggie then put his arm around Archie's shoulder while initiating some bet regarding food.

Jughead was always quite the observant one. Reggie wondered if he had noticed anything and then decided that he had indeed noticed something. He internally thanked the crown-hat boy and decided to treat him to some of his beloved hamburgers later.

For the present time, he faced Betty who had suddenly stiffened in place. “Bets…” he said softly.

 

* * *

 

 

Jughead had indeed felt that something was different in the air. Reggie was staring intensely at Betty, who seemed unsure and avoided his gaze. He wondered what had happened that night between the two of them. With the most blank face on the outside, he imagined all sorts of scenarios in his mind.

_“What will we do now, Reg?” Betty cried._

_“Everything will be okay, Bets” Reg said grimly “We just need to get rid of the body”_

Jughead was broken out of his thoughts just in time to see Archie pulling off what he called his ‘ladykiller face' on Betty. However, Betty remained alive and well, and un-killed in general as she politely declined his offer of a movie-date. _That_ was when Juggie could tell for sure that something was amiss. Others might have missed it but he caught the innocent smile that quickly flashed on Reggie’s face just as she rejected Archie.

Although Archie Andrews was his best friend, he hated the way the redhead treated Betty. He also hated Reggie but for different reasons.

He decided to take a gamble and leave them alone for a bit and see how it turned out. 

From his station beside Archie –who seemed hellbent on beating his score- he occasionally glanced to the two sitting at the booth. The atmosphere seemed to be so thick; you could cut a pie-shaped slice out and eat it. He started dreaming about pies and briefly forgot about the two he was spying on.

  

* * *

 

 

“Are you, like, mad at me or something…?” Reggie inquired carefully.

Betty answered as she gazed out the window. “You haven’t called or anything since then”

“Neither have you”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t either!” she charged.

“Well, neither have you” he shot back.

“Only because I thought you were busy since you never really called or texted once” she decided to end the pointing-fingers tennis match.

“Yeah, but I assumed you were out on dates with _Archiekins_ ” he made it a point to say ‘Archiekins’ in the most annoying voice he could produce.

“Yeah? Well, good job assuming things” she said annoyed, internally hoping he wouldn’t fire back with a ‘well you _assumed_ I was busy, too~~~’

To her surprise he smiled, put his hands on hers and said softly “Yeah, well, I’m sorry”

A pause.

She felt her heartbeat quicken, and her ears turned red. But she would _not_ let him get away that easily- simply because he was _THE_ Reggie Mantle.

She finally faced him and stuck out her tongue at him, the most disinterested expression on her face.

He started chuckling. “Well, I’m just glad you’re at least looking at me now”

“See if you can sustain this luxury for long, Mantle” she narrowed her eyes at him.

“I can only pray. So you’re busy Saturday night?” he never moved his hand from over hers.

She let him keep it there. “Yep got a date” she smirked at him.

He raised an eyebrow coolly.

“Ok. Ok. Alright” she rolled her eyes. “Skype-date with my sister. She wants to tell me all about her new beau and lecture me on ‘how to score some’, apparently.”

Reggie burst out laughing. “You ditched Carrot-top for what I can only dub as ‘ **the** **worst** online family reunion of all time’?!”

“It’s not _that bad_ ” she suddenly felt the need to defend her sister. “I’m happy for her. She found a great guy. Not everyone has to be miserable”

“True. That’s dandy for her. So you don’t have any _real_ plans Saturday night, then?” he linked his fingers with hers.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but a half smile stayed in place. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ll have to check my schedule for the day” she picked up her phone and almost instantly put it down. “Oh, it seems I’m quite free on that day”

He chuckled at her dramatic display. “Bet I could save your sister the trouble of lecturing you on ‘how to score some’” he looked suggestively at her.

“Aww, Reg. Are you planning on setting me up with some nice guy?” she decided to play around with him for a bit.

“Not at all” he looked composedly at her “I wanna set you up with a super-handsome, super-dashing, charming and eligible  _bad boy_ ” he smiled. “If you don’t mind”

She smiled back. “Bring it”

 

Reggie turned to see Jughead staring perplexedly at them. Reggie winked at him and gave him a thumbs up.

Then he got up, leaned over the table and kissed Betty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was working on another so ended up being pretty late with this one :s


	5. A Date on Saturday Night?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will the couple go on their date on Saturday? What will happen?

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Saturday night seemed to be forever away. Betty paced the entirety of the living room until her mother had to intervene and tell her to relax before she wore out the carpets with her intense marching.

“Is she on patrol again?” asked Hal Cooper, making his way to the couch and settling down beside his wife. “So, what’s got you so excited?”

“Saturday night just seems FOREVER away” Betty echoed her thoughts out.

“That sure is a lot of excitement over a skype call with Poll” he raised an eyebrow.

“No” Betty mumbled. “I have other plans”

“Ah, who with?”

“Reggie” she stated simply, still stuck in her reverie, no doubt contemplating on what outfit to mix and match and set for the occasion.

Hal and Alice exchanged puzzled glances.

Indeed, Alice could never have guessed who was tormenting her daughter’s soul as such. A slight concern spread through Betty’s parents. Reginald Mantle’s reputation preceded him. Sure, he wasn’t a _completely_ horrible person, but he was known as town prankster, and to be quite a _Casanova_ as well. How could such a boy have caught their little angel’s attention?

It was stranger still that they could not have seen it coming even though Betty and Reggie had always been going to dances and dates together. That just spoke levels about how unlikely the whole thing was.

Despite their worries, Hal and Alice were not very interfering parents. They would support her if she needed it, but they trusted her decisions and let her do as she pleased.

Finally, Betty seemed to have emerged from her thoughts. “Mom, do you think the black dress I bought last month looks nicer on me, or the scarlet one from last year?”

“Didn’t you _just_ wear the scarlet one to that party at Veronica’s a few weeks ago?” Alice pointed out.

“Oh yeah!” Betty jumped. “Thanks mom!” she hugged her parents and flew upstairs, satisfied with having her outfit for her date prepared.

“ _Saturday night is FOREVER away_ ” mocked Hal Cooper after she left. “It’s just tomorrow night!” he yelled as Alice giggled.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“You look like a man who has achieved his purpose” observed Vicky Mantle, with a raised eyebrow.

“Not to brag, but we have a date for tomorrow night” smirked Reggie Mantle, the picture of confidence.

“Oh?” Vicky’s eyebrows shot up a notch.

“And” Reggie paused for dramatic effect “She accepted it after rejecting a date with both her sister _and_ Archie.”

Vicky gasped theatrically, and then patted her son on the head. “Good job!”

She then rolled her eyes and added “Don’t know how much longer we could’ve tolerated your cranky episodes and fits”

“I thought I was _always_ cranky” he smirked and then laughed earnestly. “Thanks for the advice, ma. It helped set the gears in motion”

Vicky was surprised, for indeed she had never seen her son so sincere before.

Maybe this new thing with Betty would be good for him. She so hoped that it would work out and that he would finally decide to go steady with ONE girl instead of chasing skirts all the time. She had no doubt Betty could make him happy.

She decided to make it her personal mission to ensure that her son would get his girl.

Vicky Mantle was a busy lady, but she would do whatever she could.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Reggie pulled up at the Cooper’s driveway at around 6:35pm and swiftly texted Betty the news of his arrival.

He thought about how in the olden days, perhaps a page would go and announce the arrival of prince so-and-so. The princess would then step out and elegantly tread down the stairs, fitted in the most gorgeous and expensive attire.

Well, that was still how it worked at Ronnie’s place, where good ol’ Smithers would go and announce his arrival and Ronnie would emerge (maybe an hour or so later) dressed in the most trendy and chic apparel that all her money could buy.

He was broken out of his thoughts when Betty appeared a few minutes later. (She had actually been ready for a while, but decided that she didn’t want to _immediately_ step out and seem _too_ eager)

Clad in a simple black dress, her hair tied up in that ponytail- revealing a satisfying amount of neck, her lips coloured a dusty pink and with her baby blue eyes- she had a different sort of charm which could rival Ronnie’s any day.

Betty set herself into the passenger seat and tightened the seatbelt. “Hi” she smiled at him.

“Hey” he replied, taking in her entire form. He really missed looking at her (though he saw her only a couple days ago).

He cringed inwardly at these new clichéd feelings rolling around inside of him.

“So, what are we doing?” Betty asked, realizing that they only made plans to have a ‘date’ and never really specified what the date would consist of.

“Well, I was thinking we could continue from where we got cut off that day” Reggie began to back out of the driveway, only glimpsing shortly at her to catch that deep blush that he had started to love so much.

Betty felt goosebumps remembering _that day_. “Hmph. Y-you’ll have to take me to dinner first” she put on fake-airs as she internally chided herself for that short stutter.

“Sure, I’ll take you to dinner” he smirked. “And _I’m_ the first course”

“Might just skip all the way to dessert, then” she sighed.

Reggie burst out laughing. “Ouch. You’re really putting some dents into the Mantle pride, ya know?”

“I don’t intend to leave it intact” she poked at him. “So, what do you feel like having?”

“ _You_ ” his voice was extra creamy.

She rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the arm.

“Fine, then… blueberries” he answered simply.

Betty stiffened wondering whether he remembered that her lip gloss _that night_ had been blueberry-flavoured, and whether he was referring to that. She felt heat rise up within her every time she remembered the events of that fateful night.

She decided to let it off for now. “So, burgers at Pop’s?”

“Nah. Thought I’d try to impress you a bit on the first date” Reggie smirked.

“Reg, this isn’t our _first_ date” Betty giggled.

“Kinda feels like it” he glanced over at her again.

Betty went quiet. She was unsure of what to say.

The entire situation with them, the feelings inside her- they all felt new but just what did it all mean? What was all this leading up to? With Reg, it might just be another heartache. She’d never known him to want to go steady with any girl aside from Ron. It’s not like that could change overnight.

It felt very hopeless to think about it all. She rolled down the window “Need some air” she mumbled.

She felt him put a hand over hers for a short while before retreating it back to the steering wheel.

Yet another unexpected gesture.

She couldn’t tell. What was on his mind? Did he start to have feelings for her?

She was broken out of her thoughts as he suddenly spoke. “What’s on your mind, Bets?”

“Well…” Betty nervously pulled at the ends of her dress. “I was just wondering what this whole thing is… and where we’re going…”

“It’s a date, and we’re going to a restaurant” he answered simply.

“Not THIS” she gestured vaguely with her hands. “I mean THIS” she said, gesturing around a wider range.

Reggie threw her a quizzical look.

“I mean I’m trying not to think too much about it, and I’m trying to go with the flow… But I’m worried. I don’t want a repetition of things with Archie… I just feel very lost”

She felt the car pull over and then abruptly stop.

Reggie parked the car on the side of the road. “Bets, how do you feel about Arch now?”

“Huh?”

It happened so fast, it was all she could do to process his words.

He couldn’t look at her. “I tried thinking about it too. I never really wanted to be with anyone really, or I thought I had feelings for Ronnie, but ever since that day I couldn’t think about anyone else. You’re ALWAYS on my mind and no matter what, I can’t concentrate on anything. And I hated it when carrot top started cozying up to you and the thought of you with any other guy makes me insane and… and…”

Suddenly, he looked straight into her widened eyes, then felt himself jolt back to his senses.  “Sorry… I… uh” He scratched his head nervously. “I’ve been thinking about it too and it’s just that I can’t understand anything either but I don’t even know what the right thing to do is but…”

Betty softly put a hand on his cheek and smiled at him. He felt his heart stop at that smile. She then leaned over and kissed him.

“You’ve pretty much said everything I wanted to hear” she leaned back to her seat. “I… Well, I feel the same way” she decided it would be better to make it short and sweet.

“Well,” Reggie leaned over for a slower, longer kiss. “That’s a relief“

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Err... so I'm back. I've had a tough year since the last chapter was published and barely had time to sit and write. I got some time around the end of December- when I finally decided to sit down and write. But then I felt as though I lost it- the magic of writing. I couldn't find any inspiration to write. The year ended quite badly for me and I felt quite desolate and whatnot. 
> 
> However, after I started writing again (while it didn't go as I hoped for it to), I ended rolling down the hill and eventually found my way out of that rut. :')
> 
> I'm currently interning and I have work 5 days a week, I barely get time to edit my work or write more. I'm actually dead tired right now (hence the uninspiring summary and chapter name) so I'm gonna head off to sleep after posting this.
> 
> There's actually more to come after I proofread it and decide that I don't hate it completely. This chapter is to offer you guys some form of solace. I apologize for any typos/errors/whatever else could be there. I'll probably read it from time to time over the week and tinker with it.
> 
> Thanks guys for being patient and supporting me and for commenting! Throughout the year, I'd get e-mails with notifications of comments and kudos(es?) and it'd cheer me up a lot!
> 
> Sorry, I'm babbling like an old person. 
> 
> K night you... you... YOU SUPER ADORABLE PEEPS
> 
> please don't hate me if the next update comes super late ;_; i'm trying not to make any promises


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